TOP
STORY

Scientists have identified for the first time the ‘cell of origin’ – in other words, the first cell from which the cancer grows – in basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer, and followed the chain of events that lead to the growth of these invasive tumors. [Press release from the University of Cambridge discussing online prepublication in Nature]
Press Release | Abstract

Loss-of-function mutations in EZH2 are associated with poorer outcomes in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms, particularly those with primary myelofibrosis (PMF). To determine how EZH2 insufficiency is involved in the pathogenesis of PMF, researchers generated mice compound for an Ezh2 conditional deletion and activating mutation in JAK2 present in patients with PMF. [J Exp Med]
Abstract

MLN0128 is an orally-administered, second-generation active-site mTOR inhibitors, currently in clinical development. Investigators examined the anti-leukemic effects and the mechanisms of action of MLN0128 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines and primary samples, with a particular focus on its effect in AML stem/progenitor cells. [Oncotarget]
Full Article

To enable single cell derived tumorsphere formation within a stromal microenvironment, the authors present a dual adherent/suspension co-culture device, which combines a suspension environment for single-cell tumorsphere assays and an adherent environment for co-culturing stromal cells in close proximity by selectively patterning polyHEMA in indented microwells. [Lab Chip]
Abstract

The authors advanced understanding of the role of the eicosanoids leukotriene D4 and prostaglandin E2 in the tumorigenic ability of cancer-initiating cells and investigates the consequential changes occurring in the tumor environment that might support tumor growth. [BMC Cancer]
Full Article

A therapeutic strategy to inhibit autophagy and promote apoptosis could greatly help control growth of glioblastoma. Scientists created hypoxia using sodium sulfite for induction of substantiated autophagy in human glioblastoma stem cells and glioblastoma SNB19 cells. Induction of autophagy was confirmed by acridine orange staining and significant increase in Beclin-1 in autophagic cells. [PLoS One]
Full Article

Researchers explored the potential of a chemogene therapy combination to eradicate melanoma tumor initiating cells, key producers of recurrence and metastatic spread. Three new human melanoma cell lines, two obtained from lymph nodes and one from spleen metastasis were established and characterized. [Biomed Pharmacother]
Abstract

The reviewers discuss the association between stem cell markers, the response to hypoxia and other environmental stresses including therapeutic insults as well as developmentally conserved signaling pathways with alterations in cellular bioenergetic networks. [Int J Cancer]
Abstract

Visit our
reviews
page to see a complete list of reviews in
the cancer stem cell research field.

Vigilant Biosciences, Inc. announced a presentation of data related to proof-of-concept studies by Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, titled CD44 and Associated Markers in Oral Rinses and Tissues from Oral Cancer Patients. [Press release from American Head and Neck Society discussing research presented at 9th International Conference on Head and Neck Cancer, Seattle]
Press Release

Trovagene, Inc. announced that it has entered into a broad collaboration agreement with the University of Southern California (USC) Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. This collaboration will seek to establish a standardized framework for the use of Trovera™ urine liquid biopsy testing at USC as well as to define practical considerations and best practices for liquid biopsy testing from urine. [Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc.]
Press Release

Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc. announced that TK216 has received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Ewing sarcoma. TK216 is a first-in-class small molecule inhibiting ets-family transcription factor oncoproteins, which are the main disease drivers in Ewing tumors. [Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc.]
Press Release

Because of national interest in the “graying” of the biomedical workforce, the authors examine aging and funding within the pool of NIH-funded investigators and applicants, particularly in the growing field of stem cell research. They provide evidence of a maturing and more competitive stem cell workforce and discuss policy implications. [Cell Stem Cell]
Editorial

You may have heard that regulators in the United States are too strict when it comes to stem-cell treatments. The assumption in these accusations — that these treatments work — is at the heart of the problem. The FDA is right to insist that only proper clinical trials can make that case. [Nature News]
Editorial

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is slated to receive a $1.25 billion increase, to $33.3 billion, in a proposed spending measure released by a House of Representatives spending panel. That 4% boost is good news for an agency that has been flat funded for a decade, although it falls short of a 6% raise approved by a Senate panel. [ScienceInsider]
Editorial | Press Release

Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) President Alain Beaudet said the agency will heed Jane Philpott’s request to “convene a working meeting in the very near future with key representatives of the research community, including those who have raised this issue publicly, to find common ground and move forward with solutions that address the issues raised with regard to the quality and integrity of CIHR’s peer review system.” [ScienceInsider]
Editorial

Starting sometime this fall, the Wellcome Trust will launch its own open-access online journal. Publication will be limited to the thousands of scientists worldwide working on research funded by a Wellcome grant, and it will be free not only for readers, but authors—the charity is covering the costs charged by the company that will provide the journal’s software and online platform. [ScienceInsider]
Editorial

A paper posted to the preprint server bioRxiv, authored by senior employees at several leading science publishers (including Nature’s owner, SpringerNature), calls on journals to downplay the figure in favor of a metric that captures the range of citations that a journal’s articles attract. [Nature News]
Editorial | Article

Two weeks after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, the future remains opaque. Concerns within the research community are particularly intense for those who rely on the EU for funding, or who have the right to work in the United Kingdom only because they are citizens of other EU countries. [Nature News]
Editorial

According to one of those often-quoted statistics that should be true but probably isn’t, the average number of people who read a PhD thesis all the way through is 1.6. And that includes the author. More interesting might be the average number of PhD theses that the typical scientist — and reader of Nature — has read from start to finish. [Nature News]
Editorial

U.S. and European funding agencies are launching the Human Cancer Models Initiative, which aims to give the research community tumor cells that behave more like actual human tumors. [ScienceInsider]
Editorial

Direct-to-consumer marketing of unapproved stem cell interventions is a well-known phenomenon in countries with lax medical regulations. However, an examination of Internet-based marketing claims revealed widespread promotion of such interventions by businesses based in the United States. Such commercial activity suggests that regulatory agencies must better oversee this marketplace. [Cell Stem Cell]
Editorial